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Wednesday, 13 March 2013

34 MiGs met with accidents in five years

Thirty-four MiG fighter jets of the Indian Air Force were involved in accidents in the last five years and six pilots and five civilians were killed in these crashes, parliament was informed Wednesday.

Technical defects and human error were the two main causes of the accidents, Defence Minister A. K. Antony said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

“During the last five years (2007-08 to 2011-12) and current year 2012-13 (up to March 7, 2013), 34 MiG fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force have been involved in accidents/crashes In these accidents, six pilots and five civilians were killed,” Antony said.

He said every IAF aircraft accident is thoroughly investigated by a Court of Inquiry (CoI) to ascertain the cause of accident and remedial measures are taken accordingly to check their recurrence.

“The IAF has taken various measures relating to invigoration of aviation safety organisation, analytical studies and quality audits of the aircraft fleets to identify vulnerable areas and institute remedial measures to reduce aircraft accidents, including establishment of an Ornithology cell for bird surveys at flying bases,” the minister said.

He said that all flying bases have been visited by senior aerospace safety personnel of the IAF to apprise the operating units suitably and get views for enhancing aviation safety.

“Accident prevention programmes have been revitalised, including steps to train pilots to prevent accidents due to human error which includes increased use of simulators,” he said.